Jermarius Jordan (2016) talks Vandy

Richard Stover

08/01/2014

Jermarius Jordan's first offer was from Vanderbilt during the James Franklin era. Now the 5-foot-11, 180-pound defensive back from Alabama's powerhouse Hoover High School has six other offers with many coming on strong. He'll only be a junior this year. Jordan spoke with VandyMania.com his summer and his thoughts on the new staff at Vanderbilt.

"I did really well at one of Vanderbilt's camps at the end of my freshman year," Jordan said. "I got offered by Coach Franklin when I was a sophomore. I'm still hearing from them. The head coach asked for my transcripts the other day actually. I feel like Vanderbilt is a program that's coming up big time. What the last coaching staff did with recruiting and bringing in all that talent, I think that it will help the new staff to be able to do good things and their great coaches so you know they will.

"The offer was at cornerback. They liked how I use my size and my long arms. They want to do more press coverage and they think I'd be a good fit with my cover skills in man-to-man."

With Hoover High School being a talent pipeline, many top recruits like Jordan don't start on varsity until their junior or senior year. He was behind five-star cornerback Marlon Humphrey, who signed with Alabama, but will be a major part of what looks to be a ferocious Hoover Bucs defense this fall.

"To be honest I think we're going to have the best defense in the country," Jordan stated. "We have Darrell Williams, a linebacker who committed to Auburn, Christian Bell on the line, a great secondary with P.J. Hall on one side and me on the other, a couple of lock-down corners. It's going to be real hard to score on us. People should check us out. We're going to be playing Miami Central on ESPN August 23rd."

Missouri and Miami, Fla. have followed Vanderbilt's lead on offering Jordan. He also has offers from Tulane, UAB (his mother's alma mater), Alabama State, and Appalachian State.

"I'm still very open right now," Jordan explained on his recruiting status. "I feel like I still have a long way to go with it. Some schools I'm just now opening my eyes to for the first time. I'm building relationships with coaches. I think those relationships will play a big part in my decision. I want to play for coaches you know will be there to help you out in the long run. Mainly, it's about finding the right level of comfort the school with the coaches and my teammates."

Hoover is trying to win back-to-back state championships this season. They went 15-0 in 2013 defeating Auburn 20-3 to win the title at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.